Fracking planning laws should be relaxed say ministers

The British government estimates shale basins in the country may hold more than 1.3 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas, a level the government said could help an economy as natural gas imports are on pace to increase from about 45 percent of demand to 76 percent by 2030.

The government also said it will open a consultation on whether exploration wells will be allowed to be drilled without the need for a planning application.

"With all the inherent risks of fracking anyone would think that the government would at least want the process done properly and fairly, rather than wrestling what modest power local people have to object away from them".

He tried to reassure critics by insisting that Britain will create "the world's most environmentally robust onshore shale gas sector".

Fracking is a process of drilling down into the ground to tap into the gas far underground.

The government's high hopes for fracking haven't yet become reality. "Britain's fracking experiment was on life support and now the government is trying its best to shock it back into life".

Under the plans there would be a consultation this summer on the principle of whether non-hydraulic fracturing shale gas exploration development should be treated as "permitted development", which would not require planning permission.

The package of actions to help fracking firms pass through the planning system is an admission that previous government efforts to help the industry have failed.

Preliminary drilling may be classed as permitted development - that's the same law that allows people to build a small conservatory.

"If there was a referendum on fracking, it would be banished to the dustbin of history - and that's where these proposals belong".

The government, therefore, will introduce measures to streamline and improve the regulation process for shale gas planning applications so decisions are made more quickly.

Rebecca Newsome, Head of politics for Greenpeace UK, said: "After seven years of fracking doing less than nothing to help our economy, the government's still going all out for shale, and still trampling over democracy to prop up this collapsing industry".

But Lynn Calder, commercial director of Ineos Shale, welcomed the Government's announcement as a "step in the right direction". In the last two years our exploration operations are responsible for driving nearly £9m into the Lancashire local economy and creating 60 local jobs.

But their concerns were dismissed by petrochemicals giant Ineos, which said delays in exploiting United Kingdom gas was leading the country to become dependent on imports from Russian Federation and the Middle East. "These timelines must improve if the country is to benefit from its own, much needed, indigenous source of gas", Cuadrilla said in a statement.

Making the already rigorous regulatory framework clearer and removing uncertainties and potential inconsistencies around planning will be beneficial to both local communities as well as operators.

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